In his quest for the UFC featherweight title, Kenny Florian was not aggressive enough in his loss to Jose Aldo.Florian dropped to 14-6 with the loss, his first defeat while registering a takedown. Florian was absorbing brutal leg kicks from Aldo all fi…
In his quest for the UFC featherweight title, Kenny Florian was not aggressive enough in his loss to Jose Aldo.
Florian dropped to 14-6 with the loss, his first defeat while registering a takedown. Florian was absorbing brutal leg kicks from Aldo all fight long and ate a couple vicious punches to the face. He actually landed more kicks than Aldo, but the power behind Aldo’s strikes was obviously much greater.
I think Florian didn’t do himself any favors in the final round, when he was clearly losing on points. Florian should have went all out, laying everything he had out on the octagon. Instead, he was content with trying to smother Aldo and just make it until the final bell.
Now, obviously it’s easy for me to sit behind a computer screen and say that Florian should have done this or that. After all, I wasn’t the one in the octagon getting my leg crushed by the notoriously brutal leg kicks of Aldo.
But at 35 years of age, Florian won’t have many more opportunities at a title. This was his best shot at capturing his dream, yet he didn’t go all out in the fifth and final round.
Florian fought very well in the first round, which I believe he clearly won. But his aggressiveness tapered off throughout the fight and was eventually the deciding factor in his loss.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Joe Lauzon after his upset win over Melvin Guillard at UFC 136. Lauzon talks about Guillard’s behavior before the fight, his own performance in the first round and what’s next for him.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Joe Lauzon after his upset win over Melvin Guillard at UFC 136. Lauzon talks about Guillard’s behavior before the fight, his own performance in the first round and what’s next for him.
Chael Sonnen absolutely dominated Brian Stann with his beautiful wrestling skills.Sonnen registered a second round submission after spending the entire fight on top of Stann, pummeling his face in.Despite his pre-fight claim to deliver a “red, white, a…
Chael Sonnen absolutely dominated Brian Stann with his beautiful wrestling skills.
Sonnen registered a second round submission after spending the entire fight on top of Stann, pummeling his face in.
Despite his pre-fight claim to deliver a “red, white, and blue ass whooping,” Stann got destroyed by Sonnen. Stann has had issues with great wrestlers in the past and Sonnen clearly recognized this weakness. He was aggressive from the opening bell, lunging toward Stann for a takedown attempt.
Stann was able to fight off the first attempt, but it was only a matter of time before Sonnen put him on his back. Once there, Sonnen put on a ground and pound clinic and then choked Stann until he turned purple.
This was an incredibly impressive performance by Sonnen, especially given that he had a 14-month layoff due to injuries and suspensions.
After the fight, Sonnen called out champion Anderson Silva, whom he nearly beat a year ago. In his post-fight interview, Sonnen told Silva and the world that he wants a rematch on Super Bowl weekend and that he would leave the UFC forever if Silva could beat him again.
Silva stood and acknowledged the challenge, so I’m assuming we’ll all be treated to the rematch sometime soon.
If Sonnen can put together another performance like tonight, Silva will be in trouble.
HOUSTON — Usually, the last of a trilogy ends up as a letdown. Whether it is a movie franchise that has gone on too long or fighters that compete past their prime, it doesn’t often require three cracks at something to make it memorable.
But the final fight of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard trilogy was so riveting it blew past any expectations. Again, Maynard had Edgar in a world of trouble early, and again Edgar refused to be put away, surviving on guts for an entire round. And then, summoning the unreal courage of a scripted action hero, he came back and vanquished the man that had been the thorn in his side, blasting Maynard into a fourth-round TKO finish at UFC 136.
It was an epic finish to a fight series that saw each man win one time as well as fight to a draw.
“Think about all the fights we’ve seen in the last 10 years,” UFC president Dana White said. “How many fights you have seen where you see where a guy goes out gets hurt that bad in the first round? I tell you, that’s movie s—. That stuff doesn’t really happen in real life. There’s two guys I’ve seen do it: Arturo Gatti and Frankie edgar. That’s it. What he did last time and this time … he’s an amazing human being, an amazing athlete, and he has a heart the size of his room.”
How Rocky-like was his performance? In the post-fight press conference, a Brazilian reporter raised his hand to ask a question, played the Rocky theme from his phone and asked Edgar for his comment.
He needed every bit of that fighting spirit to retain his gold. Maynard tattooed Edgar early in the first, dropping him several times. It began much like their last fight in that regard. But in their January bout, Maynard went all in for the kill, didn’t get it, and fought through exhaustion the rest of the way as they went to a draw. This time, Maynard stalked Edgar around the cage and picked his shots more judiciously. The result was the same: Edgar in trouble but finding a way to escape.
Even though Maynard out-struck Edgar 36-11 in round one, the champ lived to fight another round.
Afterward, a dejected Maynard said he didn’t regret his approach.
“I did hit him with a knee, a right, a hook,” he said. “What else? If there was a bat there I probably would have hit him with that, too. I couldn’t find one.”
For Edgar (14-1-1), it was sheer basic instinct keeping him alive, much as it did the first time around.
“Sometimes you get hit like that, you’re in survival mode,” he said. “I don’t think you have a plan. I got fight in me. That’s what it is. You’re going to hit me and rock me, I’m going to keep coming no matter what. The big thing for me is I keep listening to my corner. They helped me make the adjustments i needed to make so I could come back and win this fight.”
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The big adjustment he made was in his movement. Maynard caught him with several uppercuts early, and Edgar made a concerted effort to adjust his positioning to keep him from being lined up down the middle.
That immediately paid dividends as his footwork and activity immediately started taking over the fight. According to Compustrike, Edgar out-struck Maynard 20-5 in the second round and 22-11 in the third.
But it was the fourth when Edgar ended the trilogy in style. Though never known as a huge puncher, Edgar blasted Maynard with an uppercut which clearly wobbled him. Edgar went for broke, firing off right hands as Maynard fell to the mat. A couple more shots on the grounded challenger, and it was over.
Edgar went wild in the cage after scoring his first finish since tapping out Matt Veach in December 2009.
Maynard said later that it was the first time he’d ever been rocked like that, including in training.
“It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Edgar said. “After every fight, you think about it for so long. It’s a weight lifted off my shoulder that much more when I’ve been thinking about him for the last 10 months, and he also had the previous win over me.”
For Edgar, those previous results no longer matter. Gray Maynard had nine rounds to win the belt from him. He rocked him multiple times. He had Edgar down and out. And he couldn’t finish. Edgar always came back.
It was amazing to witness, even if you were the guy on the other side of history.
“He’s just a tough kid,” Maynard said, shaking his head. “I don’t know if he has a button that puts him out.”
HOUSTON — Usually, the last of a trilogy ends up as a letdown. Whether it is a movie franchise that has gone on too long or fighters that compete past their prime, it doesn’t often require three cracks at something to make it memorable.
But the final fight of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard trilogy was so riveting it blew past any expectations. Again, Maynard had Edgar in a world of trouble early, and again Edgar refused to be put away, surviving on guts for an entire round. And then, summoning the unreal courage of a scripted action hero, he came back and vanquished the man that had been the thorn in his side, blasting Maynard into a fourth-round TKO finish at UFC 136.
It was an epic finish to a fight series that saw each man win one time as well as fight to a draw.
“Think about all the fights we’ve seen in the last 10 years,” UFC president Dana White said. “How many fights you have seen where you see where a guy goes out gets hurt that bad in the first round? I tell you, that’s movie s—. That stuff doesn’t really happen in real life. There’s two guys I’ve seen do it: Arturo Gatti and Frankie edgar. That’s it. What he did last time and this time … he’s an amazing human being, an amazing athlete, and he has a heart the size of his room.”
How Rocky-like was his performance? In the post-fight press conference, a Brazilian reporter raised his hand to ask a question, played the Rocky theme from his phone and asked Edgar for his comment.
He needed every bit of that fighting spirit to retain his gold. Maynard tattooed Edgar early in the first, dropping him several times. It began much like their last fight in that regard. But in their January bout, Maynard went all in for the kill, didn’t get it, and fought through exhaustion the rest of the way as they went to a draw. This time, Maynard stalked Edgar around the cage and picked his shots more judiciously. The result was the same: Edgar in trouble but finding a way to escape.
Even though Maynard out-struck Edgar 36-11 in round one, the champ lived to fight another round.
Afterward, a dejected Maynard said he didn’t regret his approach.
“I did hit him with a knee, a right, a hook,” he said. “What else? If there was a bat there I probably would have hit him with that, too. I couldn’t find one.”
For Edgar (14-1-1), it was sheer basic instinct keeping him alive, much as it did the first time around.
“Sometimes you get hit like that, you’re in survival mode,” he said. “I don’t think you have a plan. I got fight in me. That’s what it is. You’re going to hit me and rock me, I’m going to keep coming no matter what. The big thing for me is I keep listening to my corner. They helped me make the adjustments i needed to make so I could come back and win this fight.”
%VIRTUAL-Gallery-136100%
The big adjustment he made was in his movement. Maynard caught him with several uppercuts early, and Edgar made a concerted effort to adjust his positioning to keep him from being lined up down the middle.
That immediately paid dividends as his footwork and activity immediately started taking over the fight. According to Compustrike, Edgar out-struck Maynard 20-5 in the second round and 22-11 in the third.
But it was the fourth when Edgar ended the trilogy in style. Though never known as a huge puncher, Edgar blasted Maynard with an uppercut which clearly wobbled him. Edgar went for broke, firing off right hands as Maynard fell to the mat. A couple more shots on the grounded challenger, and it was over.
Edgar went wild in the cage after scoring his first finish since tapping out Matt Veach in December 2009.
Maynard said later that it was the first time he’d ever been rocked like that, including in training.
“It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Edgar said. “After every fight, you think about it for so long. It’s a weight lifted off my shoulder that much more when I’ve been thinking about him for the last 10 months, and he also had the previous win over me.”
For Edgar, those previous results no longer matter. Gray Maynard had nine rounds to win the belt from him. He rocked him multiple times. He had Edgar down and out. And he couldn’t finish. Edgar always came back.
It was amazing to witness, even if you were the guy on the other side of history.
“He’s just a tough kid,” Maynard said, shaking his head. “I don’t know if he has a button that puts him out.”
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Anthony Pettis after his split decision win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136. Pettis discusses his performance, expectations after his “Showtime” kick, if he regrets taking the Clay Guida fight and much more.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Anthony Pettis after his split decision win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136. Pettis discusses his performance, expectations after his “Showtime” kick, if he regrets taking the Clay Guida fight and much more.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Demian Maia after his unanimous decision win over Jorge Santiago at UFC 136. Maia talks about the pressure he was under before the fight, his improved striking and strength and how close he is to another title shot.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Demian Maia after his unanimous decision win over Jorge Santiago at UFC 136. Maia talks about the pressure he was under before the fight, his improved striking and strength and how close he is to another title shot.
HOUSTON — Usually, the last of a trilogy ends up as a letdown. Whether it is a movie franchise that has gone on too long or fighters that compete past their prime, it doesn’t often require three cracks at something to make it memorable.